COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND PEACE SYMPOSIUM ON THE THEME “NATIONAL SECURITY AND PEACE: ROLE OF GOVERNMENT, CITIZENS AND INSTITUTIONS”
(To mark Hon. Shina Peller’s 45th Birthday Anniversary)
Preamble
The national security and peace symposium with the theme, “National Security and Peace: Role of Government, Citizens and Institutions” powered by the Lead Generation Initiative (LGI) to mark Hon. Shina Peller’s 45th birthday anniversary was successfully held on Friday, May 14th, 2021 at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
The well-attended symposium was graced by former and serving state governors, members of the two chambers of the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a former First Lady of Oyo State, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi. Also in attendance at the event were royal fathers. Top on the list of the royal highnesses present were His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, His Royal Majesty, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, His Royal Majesty, the Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Saliu Adetunji, His Royal Majesty, the Aseyin of Iseyin, Dr. Abdul-Ganiy Adekunle Salaudeen Oloogunebi (Ajinese I) and His Royal Majesty, the Oluwo of Iwo land, Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, Ilufemiloye, Telu I.
In addition, there were eminent religious clerics, renowned security experts, respected senior citizens, business moguls, prominent players in the arts and entertainment industry, leaders of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as well as friends and associates of the celebrant.
The welcome address was delivered by the Executive Director, Lead Generation Initiative, Chief Mrs. Ayobola Peller, after which the opening address was given by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Executive Governor of Ekiti State, His Excellency, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. The keynote lecture was presented by Professor Isaac Olawale Albert, a seasoned Professor of African History, Peace and Conflict Studies and Dean, Faculty of Multi-disciplinary Studies, University of Ibadan. The lecture aptly set the mood for the thematic focus of the symposium on national security and peace in an insightful x-ray of a four-dimensional framework for building and sustaining peace and security in Nigeria.
The welcome address was delivered by the Executive Director, Lead Generation Initiative, Chief Mrs. Ayobola Peller, after which the opening address was given by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Executive Governor of Ekiti State, His Excellency, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. The keynote lecture was presented by Professor Isaac Olawale Albert, a seasoned Professor of African History, Peace and Conflict Studies and Dean, Faculty of Multi-disciplinary Studies, University of Ibadan. The lecture aptly set the mood for the thematic focus of the symposium on national security and peace in an insightful x-ray of a four-dimensional framework for building and sustaining peace and security in Nigeria.
The lecture was followed by a robust, illuminating and solution-driven discussion session anchored by a foremost on-air-personality, Mr. Olisa Adibua, where five panelists with impressive pedigrees a nd currency in the administration, training and management of policing, intelligence and security agencies dissected the lecture and made pragmatic recommendations towards attaining sustainable peace and security in Nigeria. The panel comprised Mr. Dennis Amachree, MON, former Assistant Director of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) and MD, Zoomlens Security Solutions; Chief Tunji Alapinni, a retired Assistant-Inspector-General (AIG) of the Nigerian Police; Professor Temisanren Ebijuwa, a Professor of Philosophy in the General Studies Department of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso; Dr. Nathaniel Danjibo, President, Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), Nigeria and Dr. Gbemisola Animasawun, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin.
Objectives
The objectives of the symposium were:
- To provide a forum for scholars, administrators and intellectuals from all walks of life to dissect Nigeria’s peace and security crises in an engaging, constructive and intellectually manner and;
- To generate practicable and sustainable solutions that would form the blueprint to the myriad of peace and security challenges currently facing Nigeria
Observations
The keynote speaker and the panellists at the symposium observed the following:
- No geo-political zone in the country is immune to the virus of insecurity which has recently eaten very deeply into the fabric of the Nigerian society thus manifesting in violence and subversive actions that undermine peaceful co-existence, national security, and national unity. The problem of insecurity manifests itself in the different geo-political zones in the following ways:
- Apart from Boko Haram, banditry and cattle rustling, also prevalent in the North-East and North-West geo-political zones are retaliatory attacks, (sometimes) unprovoked attacks between crop and animal farmers and kidnapping for ransom all of which have sadly become potent threats to everyday life, peaceful co-existence and national security in the zones. The North-Central is not free from kidnapping for ransom, violent sacking of communities by gunmen, banditry, reciprocal violence between farmers and herders.
- In the South-East, direct attacks on security installations and personnel, violent clashes over disputed borders, secessionist insurrections, attacks and clashes between indigenous crop and non-indigenous animal farming communities have become rife. In the South-South, killing and kidnapping for both ransom and rituals, cultism, gang wars, militancy, attacks on critical security assets and personnel constitute sources of threat to citizens’ and national security. In the South-West, ritual killings, kidnapping for ransom and rituals are rampant. Also, cyber fraud, otherwise known as yahoo-yahoo, clashes and attacks between the indigenous crop farmers and the itinerant animal farmers have fed into agitations for self-determination thus, stoking insecurity in the zone.
- There is obvious lack of shared vision and a coherent agenda to exercise power in the overall interest of the people for sustainable peace and security by the government.
- The social contract that is usually characteristic of the bond between the government and the governed is fast breaking down due to prolonged systemic failure.
- Mounting agitations over insensitivity to the principle of federal character in the distribution of goods and services as well as appointments are feeding into tension and insecurity across the country.
- There is opaqueness, inadequate accountability and clear oversight lapses in allocating, dispensing and monitoring of defense and security budgets in Nigeria.
- The current security architecture of Nigeria gives little power to the State Governors despite carrying the nomenclature of Chief Security Officers of their states.
- There is under-utilization of traditional institutions and traditional rulers’ capacities and reach in managing the security breaches in their jurisdictions and a lack of a clear-cut agenda or programme for community engagement in this regard by state actors.
- Mixed-messaging whereby the President and ministers express divergent and sometimes contradictory views on the same issues is not salutary for peace and national security.
- The symposium as put together by the LGI represents a timely, practical and commendable demonstration of walking the talk in seeking informed analysis and recommendations towards sustainable peace and national security.
- The LGI signifies hope and assurance for the complementary roles that not-for-profit organisations and non-state actors can play in exploring and proffering solutions to burning and germane national issues.
Recommendations
The following recommendations emanated from the participants at the symposium:
- A four-dimensional framework for building peace and security in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria that mobilizes whole of government, whole of society, whole of nation and whole of nations approach for peace and security in a bottom-up manner.
- The federal and state governments must be ready to work collaboratively in analyzing and managing contentious issues, towards ensuring shared understanding of threats to sustainable peace and security in Nigeria and fashion out a programme of community engagement, involving community members and their leaderships in the conception, implementation and preservation of peace and security.
- In actions and body-language, governments should be sensitive to the need to uphold and strengthen social contract through performances that restore and affirm public confidence.
- Government should as a matter of principle of governance, address socio-political and economic inequalities by continuously ensuring just and fair distribution of opportunities.
- To ensure sustainable peace and security, security stakeholders (executive, legislature and judiciary at the federal and state levels) must be sincere in dispensing and be vigilant in monitoring the country’s defense and security budgets.
- State Governors, who by nomenclature, are the Chief Security Officers of their states must be empowered by the constitution through legislations by the national assembly to be first responders to security breaches in their states as a stitch in time saves nine.
- The federal government must come to terms with the need to accommodate sub-national policing initiatives like community policing such as Amotekun in the South-West, Ebube-Agu in the South-East and the Civilian Joint Task Force in some parts of Northern Nigeria.
- The President and every member of his cabinet must always harmonize and fine-tune their positions and opinions to present a common front in the overall interest of national peace and security.
- The LGI should sustain its intellectual and practical interrogations of threats to Nigeria’s peace and national security.
- The LGI should be commended and encouraged for its national and people-oriented activities.
Rapporteurs/Communiqué Team
- Prof. ‘Niyi Osunbade (English Unit, Department of General Studies, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso).
- Dr. Benjamin Aluko (Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies. University of Ibadan).
- Dr. Yeseera Oloso (Department of Linguistics and African Languages, Kwara State University, Malete).
- Barrister Dapo Ogunwusi ( A Legal Luminary).